Study: Bluffton among top economically growing areas in South Carolina

Bluffton is one of the top municipalities on the rise in South Carolina in terms of economic growth, according to results of a recent study released earlier this month.

The town ranked seventh on financial consumer website Nerdwallet’s top 10 areas on the rise in the Palmetto State.

The company, which analyzed 91 communities in South Carolina with populations of 5,000 people and greater, factored in three key metrics — population growth, employment growth and income growth — to its score. The rankings were generated using five-year estimates data from the 2012 U.S. Census American Survey

Blufftom’s high rating was aided by a 29.64 percent increase in working age population from 2009 to 2012. It also topped the list with 68.1 percent of its labor force employed in 2012. The town did slip 5.1 percent in that area since 2009, according to NerdWallet analyst Kamran Rosen, but still outpaced the other areas.

Bluffton, which had a median income of $43,783 in 2012, also saw a 13 percent increase from 2009. The town’s overall score — which was weighted equally between population growth, employment growth and income growth — of 45.65 finished behind Lake Wylie (80.71), Tega Cay (57.79), Hanahan (53.31), Sumpter (46.50), Clinton (46.24) and Florence (45.76). As for the rest of Beaufort County, Beaufort was ranked 11th on the list (41.78), while Hilton Head Island was 21st (38.91).

Rosen’s report said Bluffton weathered the Great Recession by reinvesting in its historic downtown district and attributed its growth in working age population to its proximity to “natural areas like the May River and Hilton Head, as well as employment opportunities in nearby Savannah.” The town has added more than 900 single-family homes in the past several years and issued 400 building permits in 2013 alone, the report said.

Rosen said South Carolina is rebounding after the recession led to a loss of more than 40,000 manufacturing jobs from 2007 to 2009 and the unemployment rate to shoot up to 11.9 percent. Today, Rosen said, the state has a lower unemployment rate (5.3 percent) than prior to the recession.

“The state is seeing a population influx from the Midwest, and its low tax rates are helping lure residents who commute to North Carolina’s Charlotte metro area,” Rosen said. “The state doesn’t have property, wholesale or local income taxes, and with a cost of living that is 14 percent lower than the national average, the population has grown 4 percent from 2009 to 2012.”

Rosen said NerdWallet’s research uncovered three emerging trends:

• The state’s low corporate tax rate has led to many cities on the list welcoming large, multinational corporations to their area.

• Residents who commute across state lines to Georgia and North Carolina demonstrate the state’s reputation and strength as a low-tax haven.

• And, while employment growth was moderate for many of the areas on the list, the growth of median income and working-age populations were often in the high double digits, suggesting that the state is becoming younger and wealthier.

NerdWallet also recognized Bluffton in April, ranking it the second-best place in the state to buy a home.

NerdWallet analyst Maggie Clark said Bluffton’s score was aided by high marks in two key statistical areas the company used in compiling the list: Home ownership rate and population growth.